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How religion was stamped out
I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT DAY.
Nikollë Isufaj
Editors note: Since the "new" constitution of Albania was promulgated in 1976, the national leaders
and government propagandists have repeatedly announced that religion in Albania has been eradicated.
The measures taken by both the party and the government in pursuit of this "revolutionary goal" have
been represented in the world forum as being carried out willingly and spontaneously by the people.
Most recently after the May 8th announcement of reforms in the area of human rights by the People's
Assembly - Albanian leaders insisted that "it was the Albanian people itself who got rid of religious
institutions," and "does not wish them ever to be re-established", thus "there will not be any opening
of churches and mosques, even though the ban on religious propaganda is lifted". In July, 1990,
President Alia of Albania repeated the same points in a rare interview with the American
international affairs analyst, Cyrus L. Sulzburger.
Contrary to the official statements there are people who have witnessed the government's
violent actions against religious institutions and the clergy. In past issues the Bulletin has presented
ample evidence indicating that both the party and government organized and executed the drive to
abolish all signs of religion in the nation. In this issue we wish to share with our readers the testimony
of a young Albanian who witnessed a 1967 "action against religion" in village of Kastrati near
Shkoder. Nikollë Isufaj escaped from Albania a few years ago and currently lives in the United States.
His family was interned as punishment for his "act of treason". Isufaj informed us by letter that a
similar fate befell other families whose members had escaped in search of freedom. Isufaj's family still
remains in a detention camp for his "crime against the fatherland."
The following is the testimony ofNikollë Isufaj.
"The campaign of closing and destroying
the churches and mosques in Albania took place in
early 1967. At that time I was in the 4th grade, but
the event which took place in our village of Kastrati
is still fresh in my mind. It was a Monday morning in early spring of 1967. A military truck drove
into the center of the village and stopped in front
of the church. Our school was located next to the
church building. Military trucks would very seldom pass by our village unless it was some special
occasion. I remember the previous day when several "delegates" from the district party committee
of Shkoder had organized a people's meeting in
front of the church after Mass. At the meeting the
"delegates" spoke to the crowds telling them "the
clergy have exploited and misled the people"; "the
priests have always been enemies of the Father
land"; "they have worked against the people and
its power"; "they are agents of the Vatican and
reactionary powers" and similar other accusations.
The speakers concluded the meeting by requesting
the assembled crowd to "respect and obey the law
of the party by taking active part in demolishing
the mosques and churches, these symbols of
obscurantism and regress."
I remember the fearful apprehension in the
faces of my parents on the way home from the
gathering. That night our regular recitation of the
rosary took longer. My father added several extra
prayers for this and that. We children were feeling
that something extraordinary soon would happen
and we were scared.
1990
69

How religion was stamped out
I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT DAY.
Nikollë Isufaj
Editors note: Since the "new" constitution of Albania was promulgated in 1976, the national leaders
and government propagandists have repeatedly announced that religion in Albania has been eradicated.
The measures taken by both the party and the government in pursuit of this "revolutionary goal" have
been represented in the world forum as being carried out willingly and spontaneously by the people.
Most recently after the May 8th announcement of reforms in the area of human rights by the People's
Assembly - Albanian leaders insisted that "it was the Albanian people itself who got rid of religious
institutions," and "does not wish them ever to be re-established", thus "there will not be any opening
of churches and mosques, even though the ban on religious propaganda is lifted". In July, 1990,
President Alia of Albania repeated the same points in a rare interview with the American
international affairs analyst, Cyrus L. Sulzburger.
Contrary to the official statements there are people who have witnessed the government's
violent actions against religious institutions and the clergy. In past issues the Bulletin has presented
ample evidence indicating that both the party and government organized and executed the drive to
abolish all signs of religion in the nation. In this issue we wish to share with our readers the testimony
of a young Albanian who witnessed a 1967 "action against religion" in village of Kastrati near
Shkoder. Nikollë Isufaj escaped from Albania a few years ago and currently lives in the United States.
His family was interned as punishment for his "act of treason". Isufaj informed us by letter that a
similar fate befell other families whose members had escaped in search of freedom. Isufaj's family still
remains in a detention camp for his "crime against the fatherland."
The following is the testimony ofNikollë Isufaj.
"The campaign of closing and destroying
the churches and mosques in Albania took place in
early 1967. At that time I was in the 4th grade, but
the event which took place in our village of Kastrati
is still fresh in my mind. It was a Monday morning in early spring of 1967. A military truck drove
into the center of the village and stopped in front
of the church. Our school was located next to the
church building. Military trucks would very seldom pass by our village unless it was some special
occasion. I remember the previous day when several "delegates" from the district party committee
of Shkoder had organized a people's meeting in
front of the church after Mass. At the meeting the
"delegates" spoke to the crowds telling them "the
clergy have exploited and misled the people"; "the
priests have always been enemies of the Father
land"; "they have worked against the people and
its power"; "they are agents of the Vatican and
reactionary powers" and similar other accusations.
The speakers concluded the meeting by requesting
the assembled crowd to "respect and obey the law
of the party by taking active part in demolishing
the mosques and churches, these symbols of
obscurantism and regress."
I remember the fearful apprehension in the
faces of my parents on the way home from the
gathering. That night our regular recitation of the
rosary took longer. My father added several extra
prayers for this and that. We children were feeling
that something extraordinary soon would happen
and we were scared.
1990
69